nogen

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See also: nøgen

Danish

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Etymology

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From Old Danish nokær, nogher, noghen, from Old Norse nǫkkurr, cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk nokon and Swedish någon. Grammaticalization of the phrase Proto-Germanic *ne wait ek hwarjaz (I don't know who = somebody). For the expression, compare Old English nāthwylc (somebody) (from *ne wāt hwylċ), Middle High German neizwer (somebody) (from *ne weiz wer), Latin nescio quis (somebody).

The Danish form has -n from the old accusative, cf. Old Norse nǫkkurn, whereas the plural the old -r- has been replaced by -l- in the plural nogle, cf. Old Norse nǫkkura, Swedish några. The neuter noget contains a different pronoun than the rest of the paradigm: Old Norse nǫkkut, Norwegian Nynorsk noko, Swedish något, from Proto-Germanic *ne wait ek hwat.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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nogen (neuter noget, plural nogle or nogen)

  1. (determiner) some
  2. (pronoun) somebody, someone, something

Usage notes

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  • In spoken language, the plural most often has the form nogen.

Pronoun

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nogen (neuter noget, plural nogen)

  1. (determiner) any
  2. (pronoun) anybody, anyone, anything

Usage notes

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  • This pronoun is used in questions and negative sentences.